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Design

The Pixma MP990 is, in essence, a beefed up version of the Pixma MP560 we've already reviewed, so it shouldn't be surprising that both printers share a pretty similar design outlook. For a start, they're both multifunction printers, and until clever scientist types come up with a new way to do document scanning that doesn't involve a big glass plate, they're all going to look big and boxy, no matter who the vendor actually is. The MP990 is particularly big and boxy, measuring in at 470x385x199mm, and even slightly larger when all of its trays are extended. Like the MP560, controls centre around a scroll wheel, although the MP990 uses a larger wheel and larger 3.8-inch TFT LCD to display its rotary controls, which are mounted at the centre rather than the side.

Features

The MP990's feature set encompasses print, copy and scan. Sorry business types, no faxing here, although at an AU$449 price point it might be reasonably expected to be included. This is instead a printer for those wanting quality image printing, and with the inclusion of CD printing and film/slide scanning, it's pitched at the creative crowd.

Canon rates the MP990 at up to 11.9 images per minute (ipm) for black text, up to 9.1ipm for colour and approximately 20 seconds for a borderless 10x15cm photo print. If those figures feel on the low side to you, bear in mind that Canon's using the ISO 24734 ipm standard rather than the rather shakier old pages per minute speed ratings. Ipm should be more accurate to real life usage, which means our tests should be fairly similar to those in real testing.

The scanner is a CCD type with a scanning resolution of 4800x9600dpi, and it's capable of scanning film and slides in with provided adapters for up to six film frames and four slides at a time. On the connection front, the MP990 connects via USB, wired Ethernet or wireless. It's technically Bluetooth capable, but you'd have to lay out extra cash for a Bluetooth adapter to make this happen.

Alex Kidman is a freelance word writing machine masquerading as a person, a disguise he's managed for over fifteen years now, including a three year stint at ZDNet/CNET Australia. He likes cats, retro gaming and terrible puns.
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